Effect of crystallographic texture on dealloying kinetics and composition of nanoporous gold surface

Nanoporous metals allow for tailoring composition and surface-to-volume ratio, both aspects critical for applications in catalysis. Here, Ag 70 Au 30 (±2 at. %) films with a face-centered cubic structure were deposited at 400 °C, either {111}-textured or randomly oriented. Upon chemical dealloying, atom probe tomography of the nanoporous structure reveals that the textured film retains a up to 2.7 times higher Ag concentration within the ligaments compared to the randomly oriented film that exhibits ligament coarsening, indicating faster dealloying kinetics. Our study highlights the potential of microstructure engineering in tailoring the properties of nanoporous metals for possible future catalytic and electrochemical applications.